Saudi Arabia Drops Demand for Shuttering of Al Jazeera

The closure of the Middle East's biggest broadcaster has been removed from a list of requests as Arab diplomatics look to heal rifts with Qatar.

Fears that Qatar would have to close its global news network Al Jazeera may now have come to an end.

Last month, the shuttering of the Middle East's highest profile and most widely watched network was on a 13-point list of demands presented to Qatar in a bid to end the diplomatic rift between the gas-rich Gulf state and its Middle East neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

But on Tuesday, diplomats from the four revealed that they had altered the demands, reducing the 13 to six and removing the call to shut down Al Jazeera.

"Of course we are all for compromises but there will be compromise on these six principles," said Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi ambassador to the United Nations.

Qatar had previously rejected the 13-point list of demands, which came with a July 5 deadline, claiming it was a violation of its sovereignty.